Getting started isn’t as bad as it seems. Don’t let the perspective ruin your motivation.

Don’t be disheartened! It may be Christmas and you have to revise while everyone else is having fun, but don’t give up on the possibility that you might actually get down to some quality work among all the distractions on offer. Getting started may not be the mountain you think it is!

Looking ahead to the whole of your academic course is sometimes vital to planning.

How to get the balance right for students who work hard but have no holiday at all.

Yes, it’s Christmas, but you still have to revise! For many students this is their Christmas dilemma, year after year. How much to work and how much time to take off? If you are the type of student who gets down to a lot of revision but has no holiday or rest time, we are here to help.

Exam results can be challenging for everyone. It’s a massive day, with a big build up and usually full of highs and lows. It’s often a public experience getting your grades in front of other students and teachers and it can mean the confirmation of your hard-worked for dreams or deep disappointment when a few marks appear to separate you from the future that you had planned.

How often do we actually stand back and assess the way we are going about things and ask ourselves if this is the best way? This is particularly true of how we study. Many students tell us that they just haven’t been taught how to study. They have been taught what to study and shown how they will be graded on it – but not how to go about learning it in the best possible way.

Focusing on the process of studying rather than the results can improve our motivation, confidence and ultimately our grades.

What are marginal gains and how can they help you to become a ‘Super Student’? In this blog we ask whether the art of making small changes (marginal gains) in our lives can lead to significant impacts? We look at whether we can learn to take control even when we feel powerless and how we can relate to failure in a way that is helpful.

In our performance coaching and training sessions with students the number one problem that they raise is the issue of procrastination. It is the first thing that comes up when we talk about the barriers to good performance. We find that procrastination is often triggered by one of these thoughts or beliefs:

“It’s too much” – Leading to overwhelm and shut down.

“I don’t know where to begin” – Leading to making another beautiful revision plan/ essay plan/ career plan etc.

“I don’t need to start yet, there’s still plenty of time” – Leading to putting off the start time all together.

Yes we really mean it, revision doesn’t always mean more and more hard work. Most of the students that come to us for coaching are in fact ‘overworking’. For some, the idea that it is possible to ‘over-work’ in the run up to exams makes no sense whatsoever. However, many students are doing just this and bringing down their overall exam performances as a result.